Intermittent traction therapy apparatus



June 14, 1960 1'. e. WILHELM 2,940,442

INTERMITTENT TRACTION THERAPY APPARATUS Filed Jan. 28, 1957 2Sheets-Sheet 1 June 14, 1960 T. e. WILHELM 2,940,442

INTERMITTENT TRACTION THERAPY APPARATUS Filed Jan. 28, 1957 2Sheets-Sheet 2 ilnitecl States Patent (3 i INTERMITTENT TRACTION THERAPYAPPARATUS Tru G. Wilhelm, 436 Bethany Road, Burbank, Calif.

Filed Jan. 28, 1957, Ser. No. 636,553

10 Claims. (Cl. 128-75) This invention relates to therapeutic apparatusand more particularly to a means for imparting intermittent tractionespecially to the vertebrae of persons.

In the treatment of spinal injuries or disease conditions, the use oftraction is desirable but often the required amount of tractive forcerequired for the best results is greater than the level of tolerance ofthe patient for continued application of traction. On the other hand, apatient may be subjected to momentarily applied tractive forces whichare much greater than those which may be applied continuously.

With these considerations in mind, it is the principal object of theinvention to provide a device which will impart to a patientintermittently applied tractive forces of a magnitude which is at ornear the level of tolerance of the patient for such forces.

Another object of the invention is to provide an intermittent tractionproducing device in which the amount of force exerted, the frequency ofthe applications of traction, the length of stroke of the device, andthe adjustment of the means connecting the device to the patient are allsusceptible of independent adjustment to achieve the application of thedesired or prescribed amount of traction on the patient,

Still another object of the invention is to provide an intermittenttraction producing device susceptible of use on a patient in either aseated position or lying on a table.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an intermittenttraction producing device which is of small size and readilytransportable and which may be readily installed for use and as readilydismounted after use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an intermittenttraction producing device which is simple and sturdy in construction andwhich is capable of long and continued use without the need forservicing.

With the foregoing objects in view, together with such additionalobjects and advantages as may subsequently appear, the invention residesin the parts and in the construction, combination and arrangement ofparts described, by way of example, in the following specification of apresently preferred embodiment of the invention; reference being had tothe accompanying drawings which form a part of said specification and inwhich drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the device as ap-' plied toimparting traction to the cervical spine of a seated patient,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the bracket means for mounting thedevice,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged front elevational view of the interior of thedevice, the casing being broken away substantially on the line 44 ofFig. 2 and a portion of the gear case being broken away to show interiorconstruction,

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the device; the casing being brokenaway substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the interior of the Patented June14, 1960- gear case with the cover removed as indicated by the line 66of Fig. 4,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig.4,

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 6 but showing the actuatingcam and associated parts at the opposite end of the traction producingstroke,

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the device employed for impartingcervical traction to a recumbent patient, and,

Figs. 10 and 11 are perspective views showing various applications ofthe device for imparting pelvic traction to a recumbent patient.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 9, 10 and 11, the illustrated embodiment ofthe invention comprises a casing 1 mountable on a supporting meansspaced from the patient; said casing enclosing a motor and devicesactuated thereby which impart oscillations to a lever arm 2 projectingoutwardly through a slot 3 in the casing. A spring scale 4 has one endthereof attached to the arm 2 and the other end thereof connected by -aflexible member 5 with a halter means 6 engaging the head of the patient(Figs. 1 and9) or with a belt 7 surrounding the trochanter area of thepatient (Figs. 10 and 11). Suitable means for adjusting the length ofthe flexible member 5 is also provided such as the hollow chuck 8through which the flexible member extends; said chuck having a series ofgripping jaws carried by a sleeve member 9 reciprocable in the outermember 10 of the chuck. The scale 4 serves two purposes in that first,it registers the maximum pull being exerted on the patient and second,it provides the necessary yielding action in the applied traction orpull.

Referring next principally to Figs. 2 through 8, the. casing 1 comprisesa first member formed of sheet metal and comprising the front 11, thetop 12, preferably pro: vided with acarrying handle 12', the bottom 13,and. the ends 14 and 15 and is of generally rectangular configurationexcept that the front portion is convexly curved as about a horizontalaxis and that the bottom is of less width than the top. The rear of thecasing is closed by a cover 16 having forwardly projecting flangeswhich, closely fit within the inner faces of the top, bottom and endportions of the front member 11 and which is suitably removably securedtherein by screws 17 extending :through holes in the end portions '14and 15 and which threads edly engage the cover flanges. Disposed withinthe casingand secured to the inner face of the cover 16 by screws 18 isthe frame member 19 of a gear case 20; said gear case having one sidethereof closed by a removable cover- 21 secured thereto by screws 22.The side wall 23 of the frame member 19 is disposed opposite the cover21 and canies a bearing boss 24 projecting laterally from both sides ofthe side wall adjacent the upper front per-- arm 27 and the engagementof the sides of the arms;

27 and 28 with the ends of the boss 24 serve to restrain the shaftagainst endwise movement. The arm 28 at its distal .end carries a roller29 rotatable on an axis parallel with the axis of the shaft 26; saidroller engaging the surface of a cam 30 fixed to a shaft 31 journaled ina bearing boss 32 in the side wall 19 of the gear case and also beingdisposed with its axis parallel to the axis of the shaft 26. The shaft31 also carries a worm gear 33 fixed thereto at the side of the cam 30remote from the wall 19 and this worm gear meshes with a worm 34 carriedby; a shaft 35 journaled in bearings at the top and bottom of the gearcase and adjacent the lower end thereof carries a-wornr gear-36 whichmeshes'with a worm '37 carried by the shaft 38 of a motor 39 mounted onthe exterior of .thegear caseside wall 19 with the shaft thereof projecting intothe interior of the gear caserrMeans, such' as the screw 38',may be provided for adjustably restrainingendwisemovement'of the shaft35. -Pre ferably,.the motor is a double wound motor for two'speedsythecon- I trol'and selection of speeds being achieved by amanual switchmountedin a fiexible'conductor by which the "gamma, 1 l

like (Fig. 1) or over the edge of a supporting table (Figs. 9, 1'0and-t1); said hook portion being reinforced by a pair of heavy metalstraps 51, 51 threaded at one end to receive thumb screws.52 52 whichcause plates 52',

S2 to clampingly engage the door or table edge and which straps at theirother ends project laterally beyond the plane of the bracket. and carrythumb screws 53, 53

which freely'enter holes 54, 54 in the top portion 12 of the casing andin. the flange or rhea-ask. portion 16 motor may be connected'to anyconvenientfoutletj [the switch being movable to high speed, low speed or"o'if positions selectively. All ofthe'gearing is separately enclosedwithin the'casing so that it may be suitably lubricat'ed' at assemblyand be maintained in properlyilubri-= cated condition for long periods'of time. It is: further to be noted. that since the speed reduction.means' conby thedevice. a

- The lever arm 2* is pivotally'mounted on the back member '16 ofthecasing'l by meansof a shaft 41 fixed tov one end of the lever arm andprojecting from both sides thereof with said ends journaled in abearingblock 42 fixed to the inner'face of'theback' member 16 and in'the wall'19 of the gear case Zt}; said shaft being disposed parallel tothe shaft 26 and the lever arm Z'being f disposed-for movement in aplane parallel to the path,

of movement of the arm 27. A tension spring 43 serves to urgetheleverarm 2 toward the adjacent edge of the arm 27. j Slidably mounted on arelever arm 2 and securable in adjusted positions thereon by a thumb screw44 is a sleeve member 45' having at the end thereof ad sists exclusivelyof worm gearing, the device is quiet in operation and thus will notannoy'a patient being treated adjacent thereto. By this. means, thesupporting bracket may firstlbe mounted on, the requiredsupport' andathedevice then mounted on the bracket by first engaging it with the pins48,.48and their screwing the thumbscrews V. 53, 53 into the holes54,.54.' Alternatively, the device may of coursebefpermanently"installed 'in a desired location on a wall or table byfirst'removing the back cover 16 of the casing and securing it in'thedesired location and then mounting the casing on the thus located andsecured cover. Generally, however, the device will 'be subject tooccasional use. only and for 'such use the removable bracket abovedescribed makes. the. installation easy to accomplish Still further, itwill be realized that the hook portion of the bracket may bedispensedwi'th and bracket permanently installed on a wallortable. formounting or removal of the device, I

' Q In use the'device and patient are positioned for the treatment to begiven and the .device attached to the patient accordingly with the leverarm 2 of the device jacent' the shaft 41 a, fulcrum element 46engageable' V with theedge'of the arm 27 and held in such engage mentby-the spring 43. The force of the spring 43 thus serves additionally tomaintain the roller 29" in-contact with the cam '30 and thus, as the camrotatesvfrom-the high point to the low point thereof, to cause the lever2 to oscillate in the opposite direction.

* The'cam' 30 has the major portion of its periphery generated about anaxis laterally offset from the axis 'ofitheshaft'31"and'diametricallyopposite the axis'of' Ithe'shaft 31 has about one third of its peripherygeneratecl about the axis ofthe shaft 31. 'Thus the rotation of theeamwill impart oscillations to the shaft.

through the arm 28 and at the portion of thecam gen erated'about theaxis of the shaft will impart a prolonged:

dwell at the high point of the, cam. Referring now particularlyto Fig..5, it will be noted that the lever arm 2' pivoted at the rear of thecasing and the arm 27 is pivoted at the front of the casing. The fulcrumelement is-positioned' between these pivotal mountings and thus whenmoved on thearm 2 toward the rear of the casing, it engages the arm 27at a point of greater lineal .movemcnt and at the same time it is closerto the pivot point of the lever arm 2 with consequent increase in theextent of movement of the lever arm-'2; 7 Conversely when moved to. apoint adjacent the axis of the shaft 26' I with littl'e movement'ofthearm 27, the movement ofthe' lever arm is greatly reduced. .Bythis novelarrange ment, awiderange of oscillation of the lever arm. 2 is effectedwithin small space and by means which can be readily adjusted While thedevice is in operation with the proportion of dwell time toreciprocating time being maintained at alladjustments The mounting meansfor the device comprises a bracket 7 member 47 which may be formed fromsheet metal hav ing one end 47 bent at right angles to the plane of thebody' of the bracket member and provided with pins 48,. 48 receivable inholes 49, 49. extending through the bottonrportion 13 of the casing andthrough the adjacent flange of the back member 16. At its opposite endthe bracket is bent to form a'ri'ght angled hook portion 50 suitable toengage over. the top'edge of a. door or the at its lowest positionandadjusted for a short stroke.

The machine is started and the necessary adjustments made in the lengthof the stroke and the length of the flexible member 5 until thedesiredcondition is reached. "It is to be noted that since the patient isrelatively movable, the eifectlof increasing the stroke of the lever armis to stretch the yielding spring of the-scale 4 with for only a-fewsecondsat a time.,and the. shortrepeated :applications of greater'forceare within the level of. 1016f ance of the patient. The amount oftractive force applied and the length and frequency of treatment are; ofcourse matters which must be leftto discretion of the physicianand'depend onthe condition being treated, the ability of the patient towithstandthe treatment and related factors.

'Spinal' traction is useful in the treatment of many conditions in whichthe increase :of vertebral interspace and the widening of the nerveyrootv canals are beneficial. Illustrative of such conditions-arethe'so-called whiplash injuries resulting largely from sudden stoppingof automobiles, as in collisions, shoulderand arm p'aimfneck or 'lowerback' sprain, narrowing of vertebral foramina,

cervical and lumbar disc injuries, osteoarthritis of: the

, cervical or lumbar spine, sublaxations, injuriesto or inflammatoryconditions of the lower'back, spondylolisthesis, acute scoliosis,andcertain types of sciatica.

Thus, there has been devised an effective device in which the desiredobjectives are realized in practice'and while a presently preferredembodiment of the invention has been disclosed by way of example in theforegoing specification, it is not to be inferred therefrom that theinvention is limited to the exact form so disclosed and it will beunderstood that the invention includes as well all such changes andmodifications in the parts andJin-the construction, combination andarrangement of parts as shall come within the purviewofthe appendedclaims.

I claim: 1

1. In an organized appratus for traction therapy, a frame structuremountable in fixed relation with respect to a patient to be treated,traction creating devices mounted on said frame structure including amember movable back and forth in a fixed path and having means affordingconnection to one end of a longitudinally yieldable member having itsother end attachable to the portion of the body of a patient to besubjected to traction, power means including devices connected to saidmember eifective to impart said back and forth movement thereto withresultant application of successive traction efforts to the patient withsaid efforts being reduced to at least substantially zero value betweensuccessive applications, and manually adjustable means operable to varythe extent of movement of said member to infinite extents.

2. An intermittent traction apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in whichsaid member is mounted for oscillation and in which said power means andmanually adjustable means includes a rotatable cam, oscillatable meansincluding a cam follower engaging said cam, and interengaging meansafiording driving interengagement between said oscillatable means andsaid member; said interengaging means being carried by and beingmanually adjustable longitudinally of said member with resultantvariation of the distance of said interengaging means from the axis ofoscillation of said oscillatable means and said member and consequentvariation of the extent of oscillation imparted to said member by saidoscillatable means.

3. In an organized apparatus for imparting intermittent traction to apatient, a frame structure mountable in fixed relation to a patient tobe treated, a lever having one end thereof pivotally mounted on saidframe structure and having the other end thereof disposed exteriorly ofsaid frame structure, a longitudinally yieldable means having one endthereof attached to said exteriorly disposed end of said lever with theother end thereof attachable to the portion of the body of a patient tobe subjected to trao tion, and power means carried by said framestructure and engaging said lever intermediate the ends thereofeffective to impart successive oscillatory movement in one direction tosaid lever with rmultant application of successive traction efforts tothe patient connected thereto by said longitudinally yieldable means,and other means imparting oscillatory movement in the opposite directionto said lever including said yieldable means.

4. In an organized apparatus for subjecting a patient to intermittentlyadministered traction efforts and mountable in fixed relation to thepatient, the combination of a frame, a lever arm having one end thereofpivotally mounted on said frame and the other end thereof disposedexteriorly of said frame, a motor and devices actuated thereby mountedon said frame including means engaging said lever intermediate the endsthereof effective to move said lever in one direction on said pivotalmounting, spring means connected to said lever effective to move saidlever in the opposite direction on said pivotal mounting to the extentpermitted by said lever engaging means, and longitudinally yieldablemeans having one end thereof connected to said exteriorly disposed endof said lever and the other end thereof attachable to the portion of thebody of the patient to be subjected to traction.

5. An intermittent traction apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in whichsaid motor actuated devices includes a rotatable cam and cam followermeans interposed between said cam and said lever and in which said camat the portion thereof imparting movement of said lever impartingmaximum traction includes a fohower engaged surface having fixed radialrelation with respect to the axis of rotation of said cam with resultantcreation of a prolonged dwell in the movement of said lever at the pointof maximum tractive effort.

6. An intermittent traction apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in whichsaid lever carries a fulcrum element adjustable longitudinally of saidlever and engaging said follower devices with resultant capacity forvarying the extent of movement of said lever about the pivotal mountingtherefor.

7. An intermittent traction apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in whichsaid cam follower devices includes an arm mounted for oscillation in thesame plane as the plane of oscillation of said lever and disposed at theside thereof toward which said lever is moved by said spring means andwith said arm disposed with the free end thereof extending generallytoward the pivotal mounting for said lever, and in which said levercarries a fulcrum element adjustable longitudinally of said lever andmaintained in engagement with said arm by said spring means.

8. In an organized apparatus for traction therapy treatment, a framestructure carrying a casing, a lever pivotally mounted on said framestructure and having a free end projecting through an opening in saidcasing, longitudinally yieldable means adapted to connect said free endof said lever with the portion of the body of a patient to be subjectedto traction, and means within said casing effective to impartoscillation to said lever comprising an enclosed gear case within saidcasing and containing speed reduction gearing, a motor mounted on saidgear case and having its shaft projecting into said gear case andcarrying a driving gear, a driven shaft mounted in said gear case andconnected to said gearing, a cam mounted on said driven shaft exteriorlyof said gear case, and cam follower means engaging both said cam andsaid lever and effective to translate movements received from rotationof said cam into oscillations of said lever.

9. A traction therapy apparatus as claimed in claim 8 including springmeans yieldably maintaining said lever in engagement with said camfollower means with resultant maintenance of said cam follower means inengagement with said cam.

10. In a traction therapy apparatus, a frame structure supporting anoscillating lever, resilient means for connecting said lever with theportion of the body of a patient to be subjected to traction, and meansfor securing said frame in fixed relation to the portion of the body ofa patient to be subjected to traction comprising a base plate havingmounting means at one edge adapted to be hooked over the edge of a dooror the edge of a table, clamp means adapted to secure said base plate tothe element over which it is hooked, a laterally extending portion atthe opposite edge of said base plate having locating pinsengageable'Wi-th mating holes in said frame structure, and thumb screwmeans adjacent to said one edge of said base plate and disposed oppositeto said locating pins operable to engage other holes in said framestructure with resultant detachable mounting of said frame structure onsaid base plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,633,125 Yellin Mar. 31, 1953 2,803,245 Judovich Aug. 20, 19572,811,965 Richards Nov. 5, 1957

